Turn Me Loose, Starring Joe Morton, Extends Off-Broadway

Turn Me Loose, headlined by Scandal’s Joe Morton, has extended off-Broadway. The new comedic drama by Gretchen Law will now play through July 17; it had been set to shutter on July 3. The production will be dark at the Westside Theatre July 4 through July 10 due to a previous commitment on Morton’s part.

Turn Me Loose is a new play about 60’s comic genius Dick Gregory (Morton), the first black stand-up to make white audiences laugh at the absurdity of bigotry. The play reveals how the overwhelming power of activism enticed Gregory from one of the most successful show business careers of the postwar era into a life of sacrifice and danger alongside Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and other Civil Rights leaders. Wielding razor-sharp wit Gregory hacked away at myths about race, poverty, war, and politics. Gregory is still championing the same messages today, at age 83.

Directed by John Gould Rubin, the show co-stars John Carlin and features an original song by John Legend (who also co-produced the project). The production officially opened on May 19.